Despite a fierce reputation as one of the planet's deadliest creatures, it's still difficult to take this hippo seriously.

And the huge creature looked as though he was more interested in frolicking around in the mud than starting any trouble.

The amazing images of the over-sized beast were taken at the Khwai River in Botswana, on the border of the Moremi Game Reserve.

Bottoms up: The hippo shows off its playful side as it puts on an apparent performance for the cameraBut despite the apparent fun of the occasion, the hippo still did its best to try and scare off the photographer who took the pictures.

In an apparent bad-tempered display, the animal tossed his head up and down before charging at Richard DuToit.

Said to be one of the most fierce animals on the planet, this hippo was more interested in larking about

The acrobatic hippo even pulled off a roly-poly while he frolicked around in the river

Speaking about the remarkable episode, the South African photographer, said:'On arriving at the river I got out my vehicle and walked towards the hippo.

'He charged towards me and snorted, and his breath was blasting through the water.

'As I fired away with my camera, the animal ended things by rolling like a barrel.

Despite the apparent fun of the occasion, the hippo still took the chance to bare its huge teeth

The hippo even charged through the water towards the photographer at one point before retreating

He added: 'I dashed back to my vehicle feeling pretty excited but as all the images were taken on film I had to wait until I got home to see the results.

'I was amazed at the shots.'

Fortunately for the photographer, on this occasion the hippo stopped a few metres short of him before retiring back to the river.